was. The deceptive simplicity of Creedence’s music, too, was in stark contrast to the increasingly virtuosic-for-its-own-sake music coming from across San Francisco Bay, and the flannel-shirted, jeans-wearing image the band projected in photos and on stage was the opposite of the rock star poses adopted by so many of their contemporaries.
This democratic impulse has made Creedence’s and Fogerty’s work survive without seeming dated. Deeply informed by what came before, imbued with the values of directness and simplicity, it has served to influence countless similarly-minded performers who came afterwards. In short — and without having anything to do with the marketing term — it’s classic rock.
Rock Classics Volume I
Artist: Various Artists
Release Date: 2007
Creedence blasted onto the scene with a lengthy meditation on Dale Hawkins’s biggest hit, “Suzie Q,” which had featured a guitar part by James Burton, one of the great unsung string-benders of his era. Hawkins had an eye for great guitarists — later, he often used Roy Buchanan — but he never had a hit as big as this one. He moved to Dallas and got into production work, with credits including Bruce Channel’s “Hey, Baby,” whose harmonica part, by Delbert McClinton, inspired the Beatles to use one on “Love Me Do.” He produced the Top Ten hit “Western Union” by local band the Five Americans, and in 1970, became a consultant for Houston-based International Artists, dealing with the 13th Floor Elevators. The persistence of Creedence’s “Suzie Q” as an FM radio staple revived his performing career, and he continues to perform occasionally to delighted audiences.